U.S. Department of the Interior U.S. Geological Survey Summary of Information on Synthetic Organic Compounds and Trace Elements in Tissue of Aquatic Biota, Clark Fork-Pend Oreille and Spokane River Basins, Montana, Idaho, and Washington, 1974–96 Water-Resources Investigations Report 98–4254 Northern Rockies Intermontane Basins National Water-Quality Assessment Study Unit National Water-Quality Assessment Program U.S. Department of the Interior U.S. Geological Survey Summary of Information on Synthetic Organic Compounds and Trace Elements in Tissue of Aquatic Biota, Clark Fork-Pend Oreille and Spokane River Basins, Montana, Idaho, and Washington, 1974–96 By Terry R. Maret and DeAnn M. Dutton Water-Resources Investigations Report 98–4254 National Water-Quality Assessment Program Boise, Idaho 1999 U.S. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR BRUCE BABBITT, Secretary U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY Charles G. Groat, Director Any use of firm, trade, and brand names in this report is for identification purposes only and does not constitute endorsement by the U.S. Government. Additional information can be obtained from: Copies of this report can be purchased from: District Chief U.S. Geological Survey U.S. Geological Survey Information Services 230 Collins Road Box 25286 Boise, ID 83702-4520 Federal Center http://idaho.usgs.gov Denver, CO 80225 e-mail: [email protected] Information regarding the National Water-Quality Assessment (NAWQA) Program is available on the Internet via the World Wide Web. You may connect to the NAWQA Home Pages using the Universal Resource Locator (URL) at: http://wwwrvares.er.usgs.gov/nawqa/nawqa_home.html or http://montana.usgs.gov/www/public/nrokfsht.html FOREWORD The mission of the U.S. Geological Survey •Describe current water-quality conditions for a (USGS) is to assess the quantity and quality of the large part of the Nation’s freshwater streams, earth resources of the Nation and to provide informa- rivers, and aquifers. tion that will assist resource managers and policymak- •Describe how water quality is changing over time. ers at Federal, State, and local levels in making sound •Improve understanding of the primary natural and decisions. Assessment of water-quality conditions and human factors that affect water-quality conditions. trends is an important part of this overall mission. This information will help support the develop- One of the greatest challenges faced by water- ment and evaluation of management, regulatory, and resources scientists is acquiring reliable information monitoring decisions by other Federal, State, and local that will guide the use and protection of the Nation’s agencies to protect, use, and enhance water resources. water resources. That challenge is being addressed by The goals of the NAWQA Program are being Federal, State, interstate, and local water-resources achieved through ongoing and proposed investigations agencies and by many academic institutions. These of 59 of the Nation’s most important river basins and organizations are collecting water-quality data for a aquifer systems, which are referred to as study units. host of purposes that include: compliance with permits These study units are distributed throughout the Nation and water-supply standards; development of remedia- and cover a diversity of hydrogeologic settings. More tion plans for a specific contamination problem; opera- than two-thirds of the Nation’s freshwater use occurs tional decisions on industrial, wastewater, or water- within the 59 study units and more than two-thirds of supply facilities; and research on factors that affect the people served by public water-supply systems live water quality. An additional need for water-quality within their boundaries. information is to provide a basis on which regional and national-level policy decisions can be based. Wise deci- National synthesis of data analysis, based on sions must be based on sound information. As a society aggregation of comparable information obtained from we need to know whether certain types of water-quality the study units, is a major component of the program. problems are isolated or ubiquitous, whether there are This effort focuses on selected water-quality topics significant differences in conditions among regions, using nationally consistent information. Comparative whether the conditions are changing over time, and studies will explain differences and similarities in why these conditions change from place to place and observed water-quality conditions among study areas over time. The information can be used to help deter- and will identify changes and trends and their causes. mine the efficacy of existing water-quality policies and The first topics addressed by the national synthesis are to help analysts determine the need for and likely con- pesticides, nutrients, volatile organic compounds, and sequence of new policies. aquatic biology. Discussions on these and other water- quality topics will be published in periodic summaries To address these needs, the Congress appropriated of the quality of the Nation’s ground and surface water funds in 1986 for the USGS to begin a pilot program in as the information becomes available. seven project areas to develop and refine the National This report is an element of the comprehensive Water-Quality Assessment (NAWQA) Program. In body of information developed as part of the NAWQA 1991, the USGS began full implementation of the pro- Program. The program depends heavily on the advice, gram. The NAWQA Program builds upon an existing cooperation, and information from many Federal, base of water-quality studies of the USGS, as well as State, interstate, Tribal, and local agencies and the pub- those of other Federal, State, and local agencies. The lic. The assistance and suggestions of all are greatly objectives of the NAWQA Program are to: appreciated. Robert M. Hirsch Chief Hydrologist Contents CONTENTS Foreword . iii Abstract . 1 Introduction . 1 Rationale for evaluating tissue contaminants. 2 Purpose and scope . 3 Sources and limitations of tissue-contaminant data. 3 Acknowledgments . 6 Environmental setting . 6 Status and trends of contaminants in tissue. 13 Types of tissue . 17 Tissue-contaminant guidelines and other studies. 17 Synthetic organic compounds . 18 Trace elements . 21 Fish . 21 Macroinvertebrates . 22 Implications for monitoring and management . 24 Summary . 27 Selected references . 28 FIGURES 1–4. Maps showing: 1. Location of the Northern Rockies Intermontane Basins study area, major dams, Indian reservations, and Glacier National Park, Montana, Idaho, and Washington . 4 2. Ecoregions and tissue collection sites in the Northern Rockies Intermontane Basins study area in Montana, Idaho, and Washington. 8 3. Locations of Superfund sites and mining claims in the Northern Rockies Intermontane Basins study area in Montana, Idaho, and Washington . 10 4. Locations of major industrial, wastewater treatment, and mining facilities in the Northern Rockies Intermontane Basins study area in Montana, Idaho, and Washington . 12 5–7. Graphs showing: 5. Sum of PCB arochlors in tissue of fish from the Spokane and Little Spokane Rivers near Spokane, Washington. 20 6. Relations among concentrations of selected trace elements in composite tissue samples of the caddisfly Hydropsyche cockerelli from seven main-stem Clark Fork sites and two tributary sites on Flint and Rock Creeks, Montana, 1986–96 . 23 7. Relations among mean concentrations of selected trace elements in composite tissue samples of macroinvertebrates from the Coeur d’Alene River (sites 15, 18, 19, 20, and 21) and Spokane River (site 23), Idaho . 25 TABLES 1. Categories of analytes determined by various programs or studies summarized for the Northern Rockies Intermontane Basins study in Montana, Idaho, and Washington . 7 2. Major industrial, wastewater treatment, and mining facilities in the Northern Rockies Intermontane Basins study area in Montana, Idaho, and Washington . 13 3. Synthetic organic compounds detected in tissue of fish from selected sites in the Northern Rockies Intermontane Basins study area in Montana, Idaho, and Washington, 1976–96. 39 4. Trace elements detected in tissue of fish from selected sites in the Northern Rockies Intermontane Basins study area in Montana, Idaho, and Washington, 1974–94 . 46 Contents iii 5. Aquatic macroinvertebrates collected and analyzed for selected trace elements, and period of data collection at selected long-term U.S. Geological Survey sampling sites in the upper Clark Fork Basin, Montana, 1986–96 . 14 6. Guidelines of synthetic organic compounds and trace elements in whole and edible fish (fillet and muscle tissue) . 16 7. Concentrations of synthetic organic compounds and trace elements in tissue of fish collected for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service National Contaminant Biomonitoring Program (NCBP), 1980–81 and 1984; U.S. Geological Survey National Water-Quality Assessment (NAWQA) Program, 1992–94; and State of California Toxics Substances Monitoring Program (TSMP), 1978–95 . 19 CONVERSION FACTORS, VERTICAL DATUM, AND OTHER ABBREVIATED UNITS Multiply By To obtain cubic foot per second (ft3/s) 0.02832 cubic meter per second foot (ft) 0.3048 meter inch (in.) 25.4 millimeter mile (mi) 1.609 kilometer million gallons per day (Mgal/d) 0.04381 million cubic meters per second square mile (mi2) 0.2590 square kilometer ton 0.9072 metric ton To convert °C (degrees Celsius) to °F (degrees Fahrenheit), use the following equation: °F = (1.8 °C) + 32 Sea level: In this report, “sea level” refers to the National Geodetic Vertical Datum of 1929—a geodetic datum derived from a general adjustment of the first-order level nets of the United States and Canada, formerly called Sea Level Datum of 1929. Other abbreviated units: g gram kg kilogram µg/g microgram per gram µg/kg microgram per kilogram iv Synthetic Organic Compounds and Trace Elements in Aquatic Biota, Montana, Idaho, and Washington Summary of Information on Synthetic Organic Compounds and Trace Elements in Tissue of Aquatic Biota, Clark Fork-Pend Oreille and Spokane River Basins, Montana, Idaho, and Washington, 1974–96 By Terry R. Maret and DeAnn M. Dutton Abstract compared with results from other studies, and Abstract some exceeded guidelines.